This invention relates to solar energy systems, and more particularly to a heat absorbing window which can utilize the heat from a solar energy source while transmitting the illumination contained in that solar energy.
With the increased energy shortage and the high cost of fuel there is a great need to find alternate energy sources which are readily available and which can be utilized to provide low cost heating. One source of such energy is the sun. The use of solar energy to operate heating units in housing facilities has long been recognized and numerous systems for such purpose are readily available. Most of the existing solar energy systems utilize solar panels placed on the roof of housings, to receive the heat and convert the solar energy to useful heating purposes. However, the number of solar panels needed to heat a house has been found to be excessive. Most houses have insufficient roof space to accommodate all of the solar panels needed to provide solar heating for that house. As a result, either the use of solar energy systems is completely avoided, or, the solar energy system must be supplemented by additional energy sources.
Another problem with existing solar energy systems is that they do not always face the position of the sun during various times of the day and during the various seasons. The sun moves along the sky from sunrise to sunset, and in order to obtain most efficient solar heating it is necessary to track the movement of the sun. However, even in tracking the daytime movement of the sun there is still the problem of the changing angle during seasonal changes. Therefore, complex tracking systems must be provided, or alternately, numerous directional solar panels must be placed on the roof.